Comments on: Monthly Gleanings, Part Two http://blog.oup.com/2009/07/gleanings-8/ Introducing brilliant authors to the blogosphere. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:43:07 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Monthly Gleanings, Part Two: (September 2009) : OUPblog http://blog.oup.com/2009/07/gleanings-8/comment-page-1/#comment-153430 Monthly Gleanings, Part Two: (September 2009) : OUPblog Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:01:10 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=4895#comment-153430 [...] Hill. In my June set of gleanings, I expressed doubts about Hill being an alteration of hell. It has been pointed out to me that e [...] [...] Hill. In my June set of gleanings, I expressed doubts about Hill being an alteration of hell. It has been pointed out to me that e [...]

]]> By: etymology of Wednesday | podictionary - for word lovers - dictionary etymology, trivia & history http://blog.oup.com/2009/07/gleanings-8/comment-page-1/#comment-152712 etymology of Wednesday | podictionary - for word lovers - dictionary etymology, trivia & history Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:12:04 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=4895#comment-152712 [...] 2005. I see though that Anatoly Liberman did a piece more recently on Wednesday’s Father and revisited the theme at the beginning of July [...] [...] 2005. I see though that Anatoly Liberman did a piece more recently on Wednesday’s Father and revisited the theme at the beginning of July [...]

]]> By: J P Maher http://blog.oup.com/2009/07/gleanings-8/comment-page-1/#comment-152699 J P Maher Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:48:47 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=4895#comment-152699 Just watched "Lidia's Italy" cooking show on PBS TV. Lidia Maticchio Bastianich was born in Pola (Istria). That was Italy before WW II, Yugoslavia afterwards (so, Pula). She lived in Trieste till the family came to the USA in 1958. Her English has a mild Italian accent, and she covers up her NYC English quite well. Lidia has an awful American accent when she says CIAO. When speaking English she pronounces ITALY three ways, with an Italian T, with the voiced T/D of allegro US BUTTER/BUDDER, and true NY-ish ITLY, with glottal stop. Just watched “Lidia’s Italy” cooking show on PBS TV. Lidia Maticchio Bastianich was born in Pola (Istria). That was Italy before WW II, Yugoslavia afterwards (so, Pula). She lived in Trieste till the family came to the USA in 1958. Her English has a mild Italian accent, and she covers up her NYC English quite well. Lidia has an awful American accent when she says CIAO. When speaking English she pronounces ITALY three ways, with an Italian T, with the voiced T/D of allegro US BUTTER/BUDDER, and true NY-ish ITLY, with glottal stop.

]]> By: J P Maher http://blog.oup.com/2009/07/gleanings-8/comment-page-1/#comment-152569 J P Maher Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:30:59 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=4895#comment-152569 ITLY. New York City was and is the point of entry to the USA for millions of people. Some tarry there and then move west, taking along NooYawkisms. Sicilian Albanians in Madison (Wesconsin) in the 1940s said 'go SHARPING", not SHOPPING. They were hyper-MidWesternizing a presumed R-less NY woid. My Calabrese inlaws in upstate NY say ITLY This is also a NY pronunciation, like THAT'LL, RATTLE BATTLE BOTTLE CATTLE and GLOTTL stop. ITLY. New York City was and is the point of entry to the USA for millions of people. Some tarry there and then move west, taking along NooYawkisms. Sicilian Albanians in Madison (Wesconsin) in the 1940s said ‘go SHARPING”, not SHOPPING. They were hyper-MidWesternizing a presumed R-less NY woid. My Calabrese inlaws in upstate NY say ITLY This is also a NY pronunciation, like THAT’LL, RATTLE BATTLE BOTTLE CATTLE and GLOTTL stop.

]]> By: J P Maher http://blog.oup.com/2009/07/gleanings-8/comment-page-1/#comment-152568 J P Maher Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:17:22 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=4895#comment-152568 What the {Sam} Hell!? A lot of people in Ellinois drink melk. -- Not pathetic at all, but plain ole tabu avoidance, by Gosh. I swow! (SWear + vOW). What the {Sam} Hell!? A lot of people in Ellinois drink melk. — Not pathetic at all, but plain ole tabu avoidance, by Gosh. I swow! (SWear + vOW).

]]> By: Twitted by rogueclassicist http://blog.oup.com/2009/07/gleanings-8/comment-page-1/#comment-152562 Twitted by rogueclassicist Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:56:50 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=4895#comment-152562 [...] This post was Twitted by rogueclassicist [...] [...] This post was Twitted by rogueclassicist [...]

]]> By: John Cowan http://blog.oup.com/2009/07/gleanings-8/comment-page-1/#comment-152538 John Cowan Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:18:57 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=4895#comment-152538 The sense 'fool' of <i>nimrod</i> has been antedated. The first cartoon featuring a proto-Bugs appeared in 1938, and Bugs as we know him in 1940, but the OED3 has a 1933 citation: "B. HECHT & G. FOWLER Great Magoo III. i. 183 He's in love with her. That makes about the tenth. The same old Nimrod. Won't let her alone for a second." I personally consider this one shaky, as it could just as well mean 'hunter [of women]' as 'fool'. Googling, I find a seemingly unsubstantiated claim that Sheidlower has found two 1930s citations (of which the above is perhaps one). But it does seem true that even if the sense was occasionally extant in the 1930s, it didn't really take off until the 1980s with the widespread availability of early Bugs cartoons. The sense ‘fool’ of nimrod has been antedated. The first cartoon featuring a proto-Bugs appeared in 1938, and Bugs as we know him in 1940, but the OED3 has a 1933 citation: “B. HECHT & G. FOWLER Great Magoo III. i. 183 He’s in love with her. That makes about the tenth. The same old Nimrod. Won’t let her alone for a second.” I personally consider this one shaky, as it could just as well mean ‘hunter [of women]‘ as ‘fool’.

Googling, I find a seemingly unsubstantiated claim that Sheidlower has found two 1930s citations (of which the above is perhaps one). But it does seem true that even if the sense was occasionally extant in the 1930s, it didn’t really take off until the 1980s with the widespread availability of early Bugs cartoons.

]]>